Remembering the contributions of Robert Taylor, fixing a crashing iPad 2, finding an international phone that works in the U.S., what to look for when buying a desktop computer, troubleshooting a slow internet connection, how to get compensated when getting bumped from a flight and more of your calls.

Guests

Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Michele is having issues with her iPad 2. The Wi-Fi is dropping out and her apps disappear and reappear. Is it wearing out? Leo says that what Michele is dealing with is a "Springboard crash." It may be corrupted. She should try to backup her iPad, which she should do regularly using iTunes. Once she's got it backed up, she should do a complete factory reset. It may even need to have a DFU reset.

Michele should go to YouTube and watch a video that will walk her through it. This will wipe the iPad completely and then she can reconnect to iTunes and put a new version of iOS on it. That should solve the problems. If that doesn't work, then Leo recommends getting a new iPad. It's $329 for the most affordable model. She may also get a deal with Apple's refurbished site.

Mike bought a Huawei G8 mobile phone in Hong Kong that is a dual SIM model, but it only runs on the G2 band in the US, even though it's on G4 in Hong Kong. Leo says that it wasn't designed for the US market and as such, it only supports certain bands here. He may not have much of a choice. One thing he can try is going over to the XDA Developer Forums. He may be able to root the device and gain access to those bands. He should enter the exact model of the phone to find out how to do it.

How can he find out what phones work in the states from overseas? Leo says he really can't, but he should check out GSMArena. He can check his carrier for the band they support. He should find a carrier that could support the phone and switch. Or get a phone that supports the bands his carrier uses. Doctor Mom in the chatroom also shared this link from Wikipedia.

Miles' HDTV suffered a power outage and now his HDMI port isn't working. Leo says a power surge likely wiped out the HDMI ports. He should check if he has another HDMI input that he can use. Leo says there may be a fuse that has blown and a repair man could replace it. That could restore his HDMI. If not, it's not an easy or affordably fixable thing. A 64" plasma is worth at least trying to get fixed. The chatroom says to make sure the polarity and grounding is correct on his plugs. An electrician can test for that.

James would like to use his Yi Action Camera to do live streaming like the GoPro does via Periscope. Leo says that he doesn't know any apps that can do that for the Yi. Android may have something. It's definitely something worth trying to make happen.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Bill is looking to get his son a new computer. He wants a desktop. Is that still a good option? Leo says that desktops are becoming less popular, but there are still some great models out there. Bill's son also wants to game. All-in-Ones are designed to be aesthetically pleasing, but not practical for upgrading or repairs. A tower is really a better way to go, especially for gaming.

He'll want an Nvidia 1080 graphics card. Alienware is really great. Asus' ROG line is every bit as good, but more affordable. Doghouse is another brand to look at. Or he could just get a higher end i7 Dell. It may look plain, but it's what's under the hood that counts. They also have a 34" curved monitor that would be great for gaming.

Autumn has been having buffering problems while trying to watch YouTube videos. Leo says there are a number of things that could be causing this. It may not even be her internet, it could be her computer. Autumn says her computer is a five year old Lenovo that doesn't seem to be slow otherwise. It's not unusual for DSL to have trouble with bandwidth as well. The problem with DSL is that the company that sells it is at the mercy of the phone company. DSL was created by phone companies and stands for "Digital Subscriber Line." The plan originally was to compete with cable TV and put movies down the line. That didn't work out, but the technology allowed them to put data down that line, and it wound up being used for internet. But it uses the same copper lines that the phone uses, and there could be a lot of problems with that.

If Autumn gets DSL from her phone company, she can ask them to come check the lines. They'll check the wires outside and inside. If she's buying the internet service from someone who's not her phone company, they're still leasing those lines from the phone company and they're still responsible for them. But good luck getting help from them on that, because the phone company likely wants to try and sell her something else instead. She'll also find that phone companies often throttle DSL. If she's getting pauses as she's loading pages, that sounds like her service is slow.

Leo would test her speed and see if she's getting what she's promised. She shouldn't use speedtest.net because many internet service providers know about that and will speed up her internet just for that. She should use broadbandreports.com. Up at the top of the page there's a link to the speed test. This will be the average speed, so she should watch the graph as it goes because if there are a lot of dips, that would mean her connection is inconsistent which can cause those pauses.

Dean gets eBooks from the county library and his city library is changing formats to cloud reader, which isn't compatible with the Barnes and Noble Nook. Leo says that the Nook was a failure and the library is moving towards a platform that is supported through Kindle. iPads are also available because he can use the Kindle app.

What iPad should he get? Leo says that Apple has a new low cost 9.7" iPad that starts at $329. 32 GB. For $100 more he can get 128GB. That's the one to buy.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Bob volunteered to clean up the audio at his church, and he discovered that a computer next to the amp on the desk is making the noise. But they can't move the computer. Leo says that computers shouldn't make so much noise that it would cause that much of a problem. Chances are, it's the monitor that's causing the RF interference. It's very common. It can be the power supply as well.

Ferrite bead chokes can work. He can also wrap it in aluminum foil. A well shielded case will also prevent it. Ideally, if he can move the source farther away, that would help. But using a metal barrier can prevent the interference. Fabric made of metal mesh can also solve it.

Pete still has the unlimited data plan with AT&T and they're trying to get him to give it up. He uses about 60GB a month and he doesn't want to give it up because they watch a lot of video. AT&T has a cheaper unlimited data plan now, and he's thinking of moving to it.

Leo says AT&T lies about unlimited. It'll be unlimited but after a certain point, it'll get throttled pretty dramatically. AT&T will slow users down after about 22GB. They could offer him zero rated streaming, which is where the content doesn't count against his bandwidth. But they choose the programming that they would want him to watch, and that's bad for net neutrality, and may not even be the content he wants. Being an unusual user, it may be worth keeping what he has.

Tom wants to add a security camera to his home. He wants to know which one to get and how secure they are. Can they be hacked? Leo says that there's a lot of concern over the "internet of things," which includes cameras. They don't get updated very often. Foscam made cameras that were easily hackable, so Leo suggests not getting them. He won't want to get the low end, off brand stuff either. It won't be secure.

Leo recommends Google's Nest Cam. It's wireless, and very reliable, secure, and easily updatable. Netgear and D-Link are also good options.

Satbeer is an accountant and he uses some old programs sometimes. On his Windows 7 Ultimate system, he can still use XP mode. Is that secure? Leo says yes, because Windows 7 is still handling the backend while XP is virtual.

Sally has a Dell Inspiron using Word Perfect, but her keyboard is acting up. She's having issues connecting. Leo says that the keyboard is clearly broken. It can happen. She should try plugging in another keyboard and see if she has the same problem. If she doesn't, then she'll know it's the keyboard. If it does, then it's a driver issue. Being an older laptop, that laptop may not be compatible with Windows 10. But if Microsoft offered Windows to her, then the laptop is fine. It's likely a keyboard driver that's gotten corrupted. She can remove the keyboard driver from her hardware manager, reboot, and it will reacquire it.

This Week in Tech News

There's a huge security flaw in WINRAR, that will enable hackers to take over your computer. So Leo advises that if you use WINRAR to zip/unzip your files, that you should update to the latest beta version. But you have to go to the WINRAR site and manually download the update. There is no automatic update.

Accusing Apple of anti competitive behavior, Spotify's music streaming service says that the company charges a 30% commission for subscriptions through the Apple store, while charging 30% less for their own music service.

Leo bought the Samsung Galaxy S10+, a phone with 10TB of storage, 12GB of RAM, and a ceramic back. For $1500. Leo says it's a really nice phone. Reviews are mixed, but buyers seem to like it, with preorders doubling the last generation. Samsung has avoided "the notch," but instead, they have a "hole punch," which houses two selfie cameras. Is that any different than the notch? Not really. It's also nearly as big as the Note 9 and has the best screen on the market. But Leo says it's so fast that it's hyper-responsive. It reacts to being touched on the edge. It also has three cameras on the back. It also has an under-screen fingerprint ID, which isn't very fast and requires a little patience. AND IT HAS A HEADPHONE JACK!

In a new announcement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook is moving towards a more privacy-focused experience, including encryption, private groups, and more. Zuckerberg admitted that Facebook doesn't have a reputation for security and privacy, and they plan to change all that. With sharing on Facebook going down by 25%, especially with younger users, Zuckerberg says that the social media network is going to move from a town square, to your own living room. It's a serious PIVOT. Leo says that Zuckerberg has made promises like this before, so we'll have to wait and see what happens. Is it possible to have a privacy-focused Facebook? Only time will tell, but Leo says it's a good idea.